


Rose In The Meadow

by lordmediator



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Issues, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Loneliness, Music, Post-Volume 6 (RWBY), Rare Pairings, Rarepair, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 00:16:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18884230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordmediator/pseuds/lordmediator
Summary: Ruby is lost in the Schnee mansion, only to meet Whitley, and the two bond over a piano piece they both know and love. Their encounter has the heir reflect on his family's issues, and his actions.





	Rose In The Meadow

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Is Whitley A VICTIM?!? (RWBY Theory)](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/500179) by EruptionFang. 



It was official, Ruby was officially and utterly lost. Grabbing the strands of her hair, she let out a silent shriek in frustration as she spun in a circle. She was pretty sure she passed by that white knight statue by the door twice already. Then again, she really had no one to blame but herself. Weiss was giving everyone a tour of the Schnee estate, when Ruby just had to wander off towards the smell of delicious cookies.

Naturally, she found her way to the kitchen, where a steaming batch of cookies were just there sitting on the counter. Sneaking her way in, she stuffed as much into her mouth as she could, before one of the bakers saw her and chased her out. 

When she finally lost sight of the angry baker, she realized she had no idea where she was now. Everything looked the same to her, white curtains, pale blue walls, and snowflakes patterns. At least the Schnee family was consistent with their color scheme. Entering another random room, she gasped at the sight of the grand silver piano in the middle of a room. 

_Knowing the Schnees, it’s probably a one of a kind piano or custom-made just for them._

Approaching the piano, Ruby glided her fingers over the smooth keys. Not a speck of dust. 

Her eyes landed on the portrait of a young boy with white hair, blue eyes and wore a pale blue vest and indigo tie. There wasn’t a name or a plaque anywhere, but if Ruby had to guess, it was a relative of Weiss, because white hair and blue eyes seemed to be the Schnee family trademark in terms of genes. 

“I should probably go…” Ruby said to herself, despite sitting down on the piano stool. “Weiss and the others have probably noticed I’m gone. Oh, my scroll!” She just remembered she had it, and quickly took it out, only to see the low battery sign on the screen. “I forgot to charge it before we left…”

Feeling dread rise up in her chest, Ruby unconsciously played a sad song she remembered one of her friends from Signal taught her on the piano. She couldn’t remember the title of the song, and knew she was missing a few notes, but decided to just play, remembering the keys, and notes, recalling the dejected feeling that always accompanied this piece. 

“Excuse me.”

Ruby let out a squeak and felt her heart skip a beat as she jumped, turning to find a familiar-looking boy standing by the entryway, with one hand around his back. He stared at her with one eyebrow raised, a curious gleam in his eye.

“I-I’m sorry…” She stuttered, getting away from the piano. “I-I know I shouldn’t be touching things that aren’t mine…” Ruby stopped once she remembered that the Schnees are all about speaking formally and with a big vocabulary. “…a-a-and I touched the piano, which is obviously not one of my possessions, it’s obviously one of your uh, belongings and...! I’m sorry, I’ll just go.”

“No, wait!” He said, blocking Ruby from leaving the room. “That was Rose In The Meadow, was it not?” He asked, a big smile on his face. “I was hoping you could tell me how you know such an obscure yet beautiful piece?”

It was now only dawning on Ruby that the boy standing before her and the portrait of the boy in the piano room were the same. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the picture, and the real thing. “You’re… You’re…”

He chuckled, before he gave a curt bow. “Whitley Schnee, the youngest child of the Schnee family.”

Ruby had to resist the urge to drop her jaw in shock. She didn’t even know Weiss had a younger brother. In contrast to Weiss and Winter, Ruby noticed that Whitley seemed… physically inept. His aura was weak, and she saw no trace of any battle scars. Even his hands and arms were long, slender and smooth, free of any signs of picking up any sort of weapons in his life.

_Was this what Weiss was talking about when she said only the girls in the family inherited the glyph semblance?_

“Oh, uh, Ruby Rose!” She said hastily when she realized he was waiting for her to introduce herself. “of the… Rose family! The honor is in my court!” She said, curtsying while trying not to lose her balance like she did the first time she met Winter. 

“Back to my question, how do you know Rose In The Meadow?” He asked, walking up to the piano.

“Oh, well, I had a friend from Signal teach me.” She answered. “Her parents were forcing her to become a huntress, so she was under a lot of pressure, playing the piano was her only comfort.” Ruby felt bad for her friend. While others were training and fighting because they wanted to, her friend was only doing it because her parents were hunters and they wanted her to do the same. 

Ruby also felt bad that she hadn’t been reaching out to any of her friends from Signal, even though she had promised to. 

“I see…” Whitley said, his shoulders slumping as he sat on the stool. “Your friend has good taste. The pretentious ones only know the famous pieces and make pianists play those at recitals, unaware of some lesser known musical scores that are just as good, if not better.” He made his point by playing Rose Tn The Meadow, but a more complete, and beautiful version of it.

Ruby let the music carry her, and listened with her heart. She imagined herself in a beautiful green meadow, with colorful flowers surrounding her. And there was but a single rose standing in the middle of the middle of it. The red rose stood out because it was the only rose in the entire field, and she could feel the loneliness and sadness emulate from the song to match how the flower would feel.

When Whitley finished, they both stayed, unmoving. The boy didn’t want her to see his bitter expression, so he had to calm himself before he could face her again. 

“That was beautiful.” She said to him, smiling. 

“Thank you.” He said, folding his hands onto his lap. “We Schnees have a history of musical talent.” 

“Ya know,” Ruby continued, turning to Whitley’s portrait, “You’re really talented, Whitley. Why haven’t I heard you play more often?”

He had to resist the urge to flinch at her question. “Weiss, my older sister, is much more talented than I will ever be. It’s why whenever there’s some sort of concert that Father hosts, he has her sing.” He hoped he sounded more resigned than upset at his own statement. “Me knowing how to play the piano, is just a requirement.”

Surprisingly, he turned to see Ruby glowering at him. “Do not ever degrade yourself like that!” She exclaimed, wagging her finger at him. “Don’t you know how awesome it is to know how to play an instrument? Especially with your level of talent?! Sure, Weiss can sing, but that’s her talent. Never compare yourself to someone else. I know, easier said than done, right? But trust me, continue with that sort of mentality, and you’ll never be the person you want to be.”

“The person… I want to be?” He repeated, surprised at the red girl’s sudden pep talk. 

“Yeah! Look, I may not know a lot about you, Whitley, but you’re your own person. Regardless of the name you bear.” She said as she sat next to him on the stool, letting him sink in what she just said. “Now, can you teach me how to properly play the song? I know I missed some notes when you heard me play it.” 

“Uh…” He was still processing what she said, but was wondering why there was a sudden flutter in his stomach with having Ruby so close to him. “Sure… Miss Ruby.”

“Please!” She waved off his formality. “Just call me Ruby.”

“Ruby!” Turning to the entryway, they saw Weiss standing there with her shoulders up, her body slouched forward, and her brows scrunched down.

“Weiss!” Ruby exclaimed, and was suddenly standing right in front of her teammate. Whitley didn’t even see her leave the stool. 

“And just what were you thinking! Running off on your own! Why weren’t answering any of our calls?! I have the entire security personnel combing through the estate for you!” She scolded.

Ruby twiddled her fingers, pouting her lips. “My scroll died, and I got lost…”

Sighing, Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know what? Forget it. Just… promise not to wander off on your own again.”

“I promise.” She said, suddenly straightening up with a relieved smile. “If it’s any compensation, Weiss, I would have gotten even more lost had it not been for Whitley.” She explained as she gestured to her brother who was watching the whole exchange with an amused expression Weiss knew all too well. 

With an eyebrow raised, Weiss shot him a suspicious look. “Since when were you two so close?” 

“Since I found out about Ruby’s affinity for the piano, sister.” He replied, standing next to the red-hooded girl. 

“You never told me you could play the piano.” Weiss said to her friend, a flash of disappointment in her eyes and tone that both Ruby and Whitley saw.

“I-I never said I could!” Ruby quickly defended. “I just know how to play that one piece!” 

“Miss Schnee?” Klein suddenly appeared, surprising Ruby but not the two siblings. “Dinner is ready. We are just waiting for you, Miss Rose and Sir Whitley.”

Weiss nodded, looping her arm around Ruby’s. “Come on, let’s not keep everyone waiting.” 

Ruby grinned widely, since Weiss was the one that initiated it and not her. “You’re holding me. And I’m not the one who initiated it!” 

It seemed it only now dawned on Weiss what she did, but fought the blush that crept onto her face as she dragged Ruby away. “Let’s just go.” She grumbled, as Ruby’s eyes sparkled. 

“Oh, Ruby!” Whitley called after her before they could leave. “Would you…” He paused, realizing he was blushing quite similarly to his sister. “I would love to teach you Rose in The Meadow some other time, maybe when you’re free? And maybe some other musical pieces?”

Before Weiss could retort a no, Ruby flashed him her signature dorky smile. “I’d love to.” It was the former heiress’s turn for her jaw to hit the floor. “Come on, Weiss. The cookies will get cold if we idle around any longer.” She said as she dragged the white-haired girl away fast.

Whitley watched them leave, unaware of the smile on his face, until Klein pointed it out. “In all my years of service to the Schnee household, this is the first time I’ve seen you smile like that, Sir Whitley.”

The young boy brushed him off, reentering the piano room, grazing his fingers over the piano keys one more time as he sat down. “What ever could you possibly be talking about, Klein?” 

And he played Rose in the Meadow once more, the piece now having a different meaning to him. 

He loved it because it reminded him much of himself. A single rose among a vast field of beautiful flowers. He felt alone in their giant mansion. He was a Schnee, but the lesser known Schnee. Not only was he the youngest, but he was also the only boy in the family. The women were given unique semblances, and their Father had always looked at Winter and Weiss. Not him. Their Father knew he was there, but he required less attention apparently.

Whenever their parents fought, Weiss and Winter ran to each other for comfort, leaving him out of the picture, seeming to forget he was even there. It hurt, but it hurt even more whenever he had to watch their father emotionally and verbally abuse his sisters and Mother. However, he was the youngest, what could he possibly do?

He blamed Weiss and Winter’s closeness on the fact that they had time to get close way before he was born. Not only that, they both shared the desire to break free from the burden of the Schnee name and become huntresses. While Winter became an Atlast Specialist, Weiss gave a passionate speech to convince their Father to let her enroll at Beacon, on the condition that she would still uphold her duties as a Schnee and the heiress to the company. Their Father was still against it, but Weiss went anyways.

That seemed useless now, since after the fiasco at the ball, and after the Fall of Beacon, Weiss was stripped of her title, and it was now passed onto him. 

If Whitley was being honest though, when he was stood behind the door, listening to their conversation, he was afraid Father would actually hurt Weiss. When he heard the loud slap, he held his breath, and wanted to step in, but she stood her ground, ultimately leading to losing her title as the heiress. He was ecstatic at first, but realized that his sister was practically stripped of her burden. She could now pursue what she really wanted. 

He wasn’t that surprised when he found out she fled and escaped to Mistral, where apparently her friends were. 

The part that hurt him most though, was the fact that he was alone again. He now had to face his Father’s friends and learn how to run a company alone. He had Klein, and a few school ‘friends,’ but deep down, he knew he was truly alone. Who was he supposed to lean on when he felt stressed? When there’s no one for him to talk to? He knew even his Mother would not understand. 

He thought being the heir, it would boost his confidence and finally gain recognition and acknowledgement from his Father and his peers. But he realized that the only reason he was the heir now was because Jacques Schnee failed at keeping his first two choices in line. He was the third bet, the third chance. While Whitley was obviously interested in business and socializing, unlike his sisters, he still felt like nothing compared to them. 

Because he would forever be the third child.

 _“Do not ever degrade yourself like that!”_ Ruby’s words echoed in his head. _“Never compare yourself to someone else. I know, easier said than done, right? But trust me, continue with that sort of mentality, and you’ll never be the person you want to be.”_

“What _I_ want to be…” He muttered to himself, playing the song by heart now.

_“I may not know a lot about you, Whitley, but you’re your own person. Regardless of the name you bear.”_

They may have only talked for a short while, but Ruby never once compared him to his sisters, or asked why he suddenly became the heir. Those were scenarios he was all too used to hearing, and had even memorized exactly what to say in response. Yet, with Ruby, she had encouraged him to be his own person. Not become someone everyone expected him to be, but someone he wanted to be. Her seemingly endless optimism was so foreign to his world filled with status, putting on faces, and meeting up to people’s standards and expectations. 

“Sir Whitley!” Klein exclaimed, approaching the boy, snapping him out of his thoughts, “Are you crying?” 

Whitley was about to deny it, but saw a tear land on one of keys right in front of him. “Oh?” Whitley said, not even realizing tears were falling down his cheeks like waterfalls. “How strange…” Despite the tears, he found himself smiling, welcoming the mix of sadness and happiness. “I can’t even remember the last time I cried.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by EruptionFang's video on YouTube "Is Whitley A VICTIM?!? (RWBY Theory)." I didn't really like Whitley at first, but after watching the video and reading the comments on the video, I couldn't help but write this idea down. If you don't like this ship, then why even bother reading this? I wrote this story for fun. 
> 
> And thank you for taking the time out of your day for reading this!


End file.
